Southern Gardening and Food

Thursday, November 17, 2016

As a Natural Perfume

Do you want to smell good without using toxic perfumes? Lavender oil is a great scent for women and for men too. You can either try adding pure oil directly to your skin, or you can dilute oil in water for a more subtle scent.

If you’d like to rub the oil right onto your skin, try adding 2-3 drops into your palms and then rubbing your hands together. Then add the oil directly onto on your skin, clothes, or hair. You can also try using 2 drops of lavender oil added to a spray bottle with about ½ cup of water. Shake up the spray bottle and then spray whatever you’d like. You may also want to consider combining lavender oil with other relaxing oils, like cedar wood essential oil or frankincense essential oil. Combining different oils means you have lots of versatility when it comes to different scent options, without needing to purchase many different bottled, expensive perfumes.

As a Non-toxic Air Freshener

The same way you use lavender oil as a perfume, you can use it around your home as a natural, toxic-free air freshener. Either spray lavender oil around your home or try diffusing it. To create a relaxing atmosphere in your bedroom before you fall asleep, try spraying the lavender oil and water mixture directly onto your bed sheets or pillow. You can try the same method in your bathroom as well, and also on your bath towels. Before taking a relaxing bath or shower, spray your towel with lavender oil so its relaxing scent is waiting for you when you step out of the shower.

As a Natural, Chemical-Free Lip Balm

Lavender oil is excellent for preventing sun burns on the lips and also healing chapped, dried lips. Try adding a couple of drops of oil to shea butter, jojoba oil, coconut oil/coconut butter, or another “carrier oil” and then rubbing it into your lips for protection whenever you will be in the sun. If you are sun burned in other areas on your body, try using the same method to heal the skin more quickly and prevent itchiness and pealing that can result after a bad sun burn.

As a Remedy for Stomach Discomfort

Many people find the scent of lavender to be soothing to the stomach. If you are feeling nauseous, or know that you are going to be traveling in a car of plane and are prone to motion sickness, spray some lavender oil on your skin and clothes or rub it into your temples, next, and palms.

As a Secret Flavor Booster in Healthy Recipes

Lavender is a great flavor enhancer in things like grain-free muffins, teas, and even salad dressings. Lavender oil is completely edible, but you will want to use a very small amount since the taste is very powerful. Try adding 1-2 drops to your recipes for a surprising flavor booster. Lavender is said to pair perfectly with things like dark cocoa, pure honey, cranberries, balsamic vinaigrette, black pepper, and apples.

Lavender Oil Side Effects to Consider

For most people, using lavender oil is completely safe, however there has not been an extensive amount of scientific research done on lavender oil interactions with other medications, or for its use in pregnant women, so there are certain situations where you will want to use caution.

Medication Interactions

If you are already taking any prescription medication for sleep related disorders or for depression, be cautious of the fact that lavender can increase the effectiveness of these medications. Even if you use an over-the-counter sleep aid or any type of sedatives (even cough or flu medicine), keep in mind that lavender makes many people sleepy and even somewhat drowsy, so it’s best to not combine lavender oil with other medications or sleep-related supplements. If you are planning on having surgery or undergoing anesthesia in the near future, you will also want to avoid using lavender oil.

Pregnant Women and Children

There has not been enough research done at this time to show that lavender oil is completely safe for pregnant women or women who are nursing. Because it can have a relaxing effect on muscles and can also effect hormone levels, it’s not recommended that women who are in their third trimester use lavender oil. It’s best to speak with your doctor about use of any essential oils when pregnant, since it has not been guaranteed that these are safe at this time.

Lavender oil is considered generally safe for children to use, although there is some concern that lavender’s effect on hormone levels could be harmful for boys who have not yet gone through puberty. Although there isn’t strong evidence for lavender being a hormone disrupter (only 1-2 very small studies were ever completed), parents are told to use caution if using lavender oil frequently on young children.

Ingesting Lavender Oil

Studies to date have primarily looked at the effects of using lavender oil topically on the skin or inhalation. There have been no negative symptoms found when 3 drops of oil is mixed with a carrier oil and applied directly to the skin, however not much research has formally been done to look at the effect of swallowing the oil. Most people experience no negative symptoms when consuming lavender oil, but because of it’s high levels of anti-oxidants you would want to keep this to a minimum and be careful if you have a sensitive digestive system. There are no known food interactions of lavender oil at this time.

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

I have been a fan of the Aero Garden for some years now and this year I decided to take a garden journey with Lavender and this picture is from 3 months of growth.

This is the lavender from 4 months of growth and I am really shocked on how great it was doing. I cut some off to see how fast the drying process is and yes it was great drying out fully in 5 days.

I don't know if you can see the difference but this is a picture from today. This a full 6 months and I am very pleased with this experiment and now all I can do is find some uses for it and I just found out they have new Areo Gardens now so ya never know what's next

Thursday, January 3, 2013

As the spring is approaching slowly but surly I am on the look out for ways to fertilize my plants without having to go off the beaten path and go for inorganic fertilizers. This year i have looked up ways that you can use what you probably already have in the house to get you started.

1. Epson Salt

Epsom salt – actually magnesium sulfate – helps seeds germinate, makes plants grow bushier, produces more flowers, increases chlorophyll production and deters pests, such as slugs and voles. It also provides vital nutrients to supplement your regular fertilizer.
Although magnesium and sulfur occur naturally in soil, they can be depleted by various conditions, including heavy agricultural use. But unlike most commercial fertilizers, which build up in the soil over time, Epsom Salt is not persistent so you can’t overuse it.
Here are some other tips for using Epson salt in the garden.

Houseplants: 2 tablespoons per gallon of water; feed plants monthly.

Roses: 1 tablespoon per foot of plant height per plant; apply every two weeks. Also scratch 1/2 cup into soil at base to encourage flowering canes and healthy new basal cane growth. Soak unplanted bushes in 1 cup of Epsom Salt per gallon of water to help roots recover. Add a tablespoon of Epsom Salt to each hole at planting time. Spray with Epsom Salt solution weekly to discourage pests.

Cut a banana peel into small pieces and mix them up with fresh soil for an added boost when planting a new plant. Banana peels can be mixed into the soil around plants, shrubs and trees at any time for an added fertilizer. If you happen to have access to a banana tree, add leaves, stalks and skins to your soil as well.

3. Urine

Human urine is one of the fastest-acting, most excellent sources of nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium and trace elements for plants, delivered in a form that’s perfect for assimilation. Not only that, we all have a constant, year-round supply of it - and it's free!

Fresh human urine is sterile and so free from bacteria. In fact it is so sterile that it can be drunk when fresh; it’s only when it is older than 24 hours that the urea turns into ammonia, which is what causes the 'wee' smell. At this stage it will be too strong for use on plants, but poured neat on to the compost heap it makes a fabulous compost accelerator/activator, with the extra benefit of adding more nutrients.

Dilute one part urine to 10-15 parts water for application on plants in the growth stage. Dilute in 30-50 parts water for use on pot plants, which are much more sensitive to fertilizers of any kind. Trees, shrubs and lawns are fine with undiluted urine, but for obvious reasons apply it underneath fruiting bushes, as opposed to directly on to foliage and fruit. Some fertilizers such as seaweed, are specifically used as foliar feeds [applied direct to leaves], but urine is always best applied directly to a plant's root system.

Antibiotics, vitamin supplements and other medications will end up in your urine, but in such minute quantities as to be negligible, especially when diluted in water.

This is all I could come up with right now but as spring approaches I will add more.

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Happy New Years everyone in the start of the gardening season I want to learn about Determinate and Indeterminate Tomatoes. There is nothing in this world like a home grown tomato and when i learned there is a difference yall know I had to investigate lol.
One of the most common questions about tomato plants is what the difference is between determinate and indeterminate varieties. Once you know the difference, it's easy to make informed decisions about which tomatoes will work best in your garden.
The most simple explanation of the difference between determinate and indeterminate tomatoes is that determinate tomatoes bear their crop all at once, while indeterminate tomatoes bear fruit over the course of a season. Indeterminate varieties tend to grow longer vines and will require more support in terms of staking or caging over the course of a season. Determinate varieties often (but not always) tend to be more compact and manageable.

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About Me

I am a woman from East Tn who loves music and gardening. I wanted to create some blogs for people to learn how to Garden or just unwind and listen to some soulful music. I have a youtube Channel that has great garden tips and tricks. If anyone wants to reach me email at nehketah1978@yahoo.com